Carr Manor Nursery

Weekly dance teaching, outdoor play and a jungle-themed sensory space give Carr Manor Nursery a recognisable character. Play is the organising principle, with books, movement and practical experiences running through the day. At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective.

Based in Walton-le-Dale, Preston, Carr Manor accepts children aged three months to five years and has capacity for 100 children in total. That whole-nursery figure is useful for understanding its scale; it is not a room size or the number attending together.

Free settling-in sessions and an on-site cook add practical appeal. Full-day and half-day bookings serve different attendance needs, while eligible families can use funded hours during term time or spread them across the year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for care and learning: children develop language, physical skills and social confidence through play, alongside early reading, mathematics and creative experiences. This is the shared early-years foundation, rather than an extra programme unique to Carr Manor.

Here, that framework takes concrete forms. Reading and making marks introduce literacy; blocks, shapes and measuring bring mathematical ideas into play. Planting seeds and observing wildlife connect learning with living things. Visits to a shop, a railway station and a park extend children's experiences beyond the nursery, without turning an outing into a formal lesson.

A professional dance teacher visits weekly. That gives movement a recurring place in the timetable alongside everyday music and imaginative play. Learning progress journals document children's development, providing a thread between activities and the information shared with families.

In February 2022, babies explored books with adults, while preschool children anticipated familiar storylines and acted out characters. These examples show different ways of engaging with stories: handling a book and recognising a favourite character for younger children, then prediction and role play for older ones.

Outdoor and Sensory Play

Two outdoor areas provide space for active play. In February 2022, older children used gardens for climbing, jumping and running, while babies played with cars and a small wooden slide. Another activity involved balancing along a plank with adult support. These are useful examples of how physical learning can involve both energetic movement and careful coordination.

The Jungle themed Sensory & Soft Play Room combines soft play shapes with textures, sensory lighting and interactive equipment. It is also offered for hire, including a free introductory hour. Families can therefore use this space together as a separate activity; the hire offer should be kept distinct from nursery attendance.

Hygge Spaces is a funded environmental project intended to make the change from home to nursery feel more comfortable. Its February 2026 announcement set out plans to buy softer furnishings, gentle lighting, relaxing music and aromas. The useful distinction is between an awarded project and completed facilities: these were planned purchases, rather than a finished-room description.

Relationships and Communication

Free settling-in sessions give families a way to introduce nursery attendance before the regular routine begins. An open-door policy supports contact with staff, while learning journals and feedback about development give conversations a practical subject beyond how the day went.

In February 2022, staff gathered information about children's care and learning when they started. Adults responded to babies with cuddles and conversation, and children sought help with everyday tasks such as shoes. These observations describe relationships at that time, rather than a promise about a particular child's settling experience today.

The nursery's approach to communication includes exchanging ideas with parents and understanding individual needs. For families, the value lies in connecting what children do at nursery with their interests and routines at home, rather than treating the two settings as separate worlds.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role provides a contact for additional-needs discussions, and the deputy manager works with families and outside agencies. At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that the SENCO adapted learning while referrals were pending and that collaboration with parents and professionals supported children's progress.

Food is made on site, with meals and snacks freshly prepared each day and menus changing weekly. For babies, staff follow parents' feeding routines, can handle expressed milk and work with families on weaning; special diets are discussed with parents so that meals can be adapted.

Sessions and Attendance

Carr Manor opens from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year. It closes for bank holidays and Christmas. These are opening hours, separate from the full-day and half-day booking options.

Both full days and half days are sold, and extra sessions can be booked beyond a family's funded entitlement. The distinction matters: the opening window describes when the nursery operates, while the booking pattern determines the care a family purchases.

Enquiries can be made through a callback request, leaving a name and telephone number. The nursery also has a direct telephone contact. This offers a straightforward first step for families considering the setting.

Getting There

The address is St Patrick’s Place, Walton-le-Dale, Preston, Lancashire, PR5 4HN. On-site parking provides a practical option for families travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered to eligible children from the term after they turn nine months until the last term before school. Depending on family circumstances, the entitlement is 15 or 30 hours; it can be used over 38 funded weeks or stretched across 51 weeks.

Private childcare and additional paid sessions are also offered. Meals and snacks are included in nursery fees, but meals during funded hours are charged separately. That distinction belongs in the household budget alongside any extra care, rather than assuming funded hours cover the whole attendance package. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the charge structure.

• Teaching consistency. In February 2022, teaching was inconsistent: some activities failed to extend children's existing knowledge and skills. Staff across the nursery needed a clearer understanding of what planned activities were intended to teach, alongside more regular professional support for those working with toddlers. Ask how activity planning and staff support now address those points.
• Settling and sensory space. Free settling sessions are offered, and the Jungle themed Sensory & Soft Play Room can also be hired separately. On a visit, ask how settling sessions are organised for your child and how the sensory space fits into nursery attendance.
• Funded-place budgeting. Funded-hour meals carry a separate charge, unlike meals within nursery fees. Ask for a written breakdown covering your attendance pattern and meals.

Carr Manor suits families seeking either full-day attendance or half-day care, with funded hours arranged over term time or stretched across the year. Weekly dance, outdoor play and learning journals give the day concrete shape; free settling sessions offer a practical starting point for younger children and their parents.

The February 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection reference, but its teaching-development actions deserve attention when choosing toddler care. The strongest fit is for families who value play, movement and ongoing communication, and who distinguish the nursery's current offer from its planned environmental improvements.